The premise of an air/water barrier as part of a building envelope barrier system is to stop the unintended passage of air, water, and other elements into and out of a building enclosure. Exterior air/water barrier sheet membranes were first introduced into the industry, but there are several problems associated with installing sheets in the field because the seams are such critical junctures. Installation of the sheets does not always match the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Environmental conditions (e.g., wind, temperature, rain, etc.) can create significant obstacles for the successful installation of sheet materials. Moreover, the sheet backing typically provides a poor bonding surface for other construction materials, thereby making sheets difficult to adhere.
Fluid-applied air/water barrier membranes are newer to the industry and are gaining acceptance as an alternative to sheet membrane barrier products. Fluid-applied membrane barrier products are faster to install than sheet membrane barrier products at the jobsite. The typical installation crew requirements are smaller than with sheet membrane barrier installations. Fluid-applied membranes are typically spray applied on the jobsite, which greatly increases the production rate compared to the application of sheet membranes. However, issues with the application can occur, such as an incorrect amount of material being applied due to applicator error, equipment problems, and/or environmental conditions (e.g., wind, temperature, rain, etc.). Such issues impact not only the quality and durability of the air/water barrier installation but can also incur significant additional costs to clean up and repair damage to adjacent buildings and cars due to overspray.
Conventional methods for installation of the exterior sheathing, air barrier and water resistant barrier requires separate crews which accomplish installation around the building perimeter in several steps: to install the sheathing first, then finish the joints on the second round, and then install the water resistant barrier and the air barrier yet in the next and separate round.
Thus, there continues to be a need for providing an air/water barrier membrane that minimizes problems associated with installation. There also continues to be a need for building panels coated with an air/water barrier membrane under controlled conditions during manufacturing.
It will be appreciated that this background description has been created by the inventors to aid the reader and is not to be taken as an indication that any of the indicated problems were themselves appreciated in the art. While the described principles can, in some aspects and embodiments, alleviate the problems inherent in other systems, it will be appreciated that the scope of the protected innovation is defined by the attached claims and not by the ability of any disclosed feature to solve any specific problem noted herein.